This invention relates to surgical apparatus and methods in general, and more particularly to apparatus and methods for placing suture wires into tissue for the surgical approximation and tensioning of tissue.
There is a growing trend to perform many surgical procedures using minimally invasive techniques. In such surgery, which is sometimes referred to as xe2x80x9ckeyhole surgeryxe2x80x9d, surgical instruments are inserted into the body through small surface incisions, and then the instruments are manipulated from outside the body while the actual surgery is carried out at a remote site inside the body.
One of the more common surgical tasks is the placement of sutures into tissue so as to aid repair. However, conventional suturing requires a substantial amount of manipulation, i.e., the needle must be moved safely into position at the surgical site, then the needle (and trailing suture) must be passed through the target tissue, then the needle must be safely removed from the surgical site, and finally the suture must be effectively knotted. During minimally invasive surgery, this must all be done at a remote interior surgical site, using a minimum of space. This can be difficult and time-consuming to do.
As a result, one object of the present invention is to provide apparatus for quickly and easily placing suture wires into tissue for the approximation and tensioning of tissue.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a method for quickly and easily placing suture wires into tissue for the approximation and tensioning of tissue.
These and other objects are addressed by the present invention, which comprises an apparatus and method for placing suture wire through tissue, e.g., during minimally invasive surgery or during open surgery where space may be limited. The apparatus is configured so as to deliver suture wire to the distal end of a shaft, whereupon the wire is deflected so as to change directions and pass into, and through, the tissue. As a result of this construction, the suture wire can be made to follow a path such that the wire goes into the tissue and then back out again, whereby a loop of suture wire may be passed through the tissue. This loop of suture wire may then be used to approximate and/or tension the tissue.